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 Ethan Caleb picks up the ringing telephone on his desk.
"Yes, she's seen the file," he said, looking at the autopsy photos on his laptop while clicking on the speakerphone. "Who is this person and what is she to Liz?"
"She's no one," says the female voice.
"Then why is Liz so interested?"
"She saw the slide, didn't she?"
"Yeah,"
"Well, then, you know why."
"There's more to it, isn't there?"
"Do you want to be Department Head or not?"
"Yes," says Caleb.
"Well, then, don't go all soft on me," says the annoyed woman. "What IS it about this chickie?"
Liz finishes the last page of the autopsy report and closes the folder. She doesn't buy it. Accidental drowning due to alcohol consumption? If it's one thing she's learned in the last 15 years is nothing is EVER what it seems. There's nothing accidental in this. She looks back at the slide. Someone wants her to see this, but why? She runs her hands on the folder and irresistably, opens it again.
Michael wakes from his alcoholic stupor. He smells beer everywhere. On his clothes, his body, the chair.
"Shit!" he says as he realizes that he has split almost the whole can of beer over himself and the furniture. He gets up and spots the framed photo on the floor. Michael walks over to it, picks it up and brushes the broken glass away and pulls the photo from the frame. Several times he has started to rip up this photo, throw it away, strip his memory of it. But itt was one of the few times in his life he had been genuinely happy and it's the reason why he can't destroy it. He fondles it for a moment, then shakes off his memory and tosses it on the table before heading to the bathroom. So much for happy memories.
"Excuse me," says a dark-haired, bearded man, addressing two lab technicians conferring in the corridor. "I'm looking for Dr. Parker."
"She's in the lab," says one of the women, "third door on the right."
"Thank you," he says and walks away from them.
"Who is THAT?" says the first technician.
"I've no idea," says the second. "I've never seen him before."
Liz never hears the man enter, never hears him come up behind her. He notices the slide, stares at it, then Liz. Liz is lost in her reading, so it comes as a shock when the hand touches her shoulder. She drops the folder and knocks over her cold cup of tea, the second one of the day.. She gets up and tries to clean the mess. The man wraps and tightens his arms around her, stops her from moving. Every cell in her body tingles to life. No one has touched her like that since ...
"Max?"
He turns her around and she stares in disbelief. She takes her hands and touches his face, the beard she's never seen, his hair to see if he is real, not some dream.
"You're alive," she says.
He smiles and looks into her tired, deep dark eyes and sees the light in them switch on. She's as beautiful as ever in his eyes. How he had missed looking into those eyes that were always so open to him. He pulls the beret from her hair and buries his hands in her thick dark hair and covers her mouth with his own.
Outside the lab, a small crowd gathers at the window. Ethan Caleb sees them and walks up to them to see what's going on.
"Definitely NOT her brother," says the second technician.
Ethan looks through the window to see Max and Liz kiss in a passionate embrace.
"I didn't know she had it in her," he says and walks away.
It's Liz who first realizes they have an audience.
"Max," she says, pointing to the window, "we're being watched."
Max spins around. It startles Liz, the speed of it, but she thinks, it must a conditioned reflex from years of fighting. He walks up to the window and pulls the cord. The blinds quickly drop and block the intruding eyes. He then seals the door.
Liz asks, "What are you doing here?"
"I've come for you, Liz."
Maria stuffs her clothes in her bag and heads for the exit.
"Later," she says to the manager as he lets her out.
Maria feels a little unsteady tonight. One of the perks of the job -- unlimited drinks. She fumbles for her car keys, but she can't find them. Then she remembers she left them on the bathroom sink in the ladies' room.
"Damn," she says. She turns and raps at Chez Pierre's door.
"Frank, Frank," yells Maria, "Let me in! I forgot my keys. Frank!"
No answer.
"Great," she says.
"Need a ride?"
"OMG! Isabel!" exclaims Maria, turning and giving her a bear hug.
"I know what you tried to do 13 years ago," says Max.
Liz looks away as she remembers Fmax and the terrible costs. But it was 2014 and the EOTW hadn't come. So maybe it had been the right decision after all. Max was Fmax no more, but Present Max and he's alive. Liz changes the subject.
"How did you find me?"
"It wasn't hard," he said. "The Roswell papers carried stories about your discoveries and the Internet. You've made quite a name for yourself."
Liz nods. She'd forgotten about those stories. She's slightly embaressed by the excessive praise of "the hometown girl makes good" aspects of the story.
"Are you King?"
"Yes," he says.
She nods. Max has fulfilled his destiny, she thinks ... obviously with Tess. Maybe she had been wrong about her after all. Max notices her discomfort.
"The war?"
"Kivar's on the run," Max says. "He's on Earth."
"Here? Where?"
"I don't know. I don't know where to look."
Liz looks at Max, then at the slide.
"That's why you're here. For Kivar," she reasons, deciding to tell him about Ava.
"Max ..." she begins, but Max interrupts.
"Liz, there's something I need to tell you ... about Tess."
"Max ..." she says again, uncomfortable with even the mention of Tess' name.
"Tess is dead, Liz."
Liz is unable to hide her shock.
"When?"
"13 years ago?"
"How?"
"In childbirth."
"What about your son?"
"I have no son," says Max.
"What do you mean, you have no son?" asks Liz. "Is your son dead, too?"
"I never had a son," says Max, his face tightening.
"But you said ...," says Liz, knitting her brows in confusion.
"Tess lied," says Max. "The baby ... it was Kyle's."
Liz's jaw drops.
"Kyle's?" Her mind races. "How do you know this?"
"Tess told me ... before she died. ... I have waited 13 years to tell you this, 13 years looking for a way back to earth ... back to you."
"I don't believe this," says Liz, her mind reeling from overload.
She tries to walk past him, but he blocks her path.
"Liz, look at me," he says. She doesn't move. He takes his hand and pushes her chin up until she squarely looks in his eyes. "Tess and I never had sex."
Maria is still jumping up and down.
"I can't believe it's really you! Does Michael know you're here?"
"Not yet. I was hoping he was with you."
"Max. Where is Max?"
"He's is Boston."
"You mean?"
"Yes, Liz."
"But what about Tess and the baby?"
"It's a long story, but, to make a long story short, Tess is dead."
"Good," says Maria. "Tess killed Alex."
"What?" says Isabel, shocked.
"Didn't tell you that, huh?" says Maria. "We found out too late. We saw the Granilith zoom into space and that was that."
"How's Michael? Is he okay?"
"No, he's not okay. None of us is okay. We thought you were dead."
"What happened?"
"That's what I'd like to know. After you buzzed off to Antar, we found out that Nasedo and Tess set you up and that, in exchange for Max's son, she got to live, but not until she turned you and Max over to Kivar."
"Yeah, well, she did do that."
"So how come you're not dead."
"Later. Where's Michael?"
Max registers the shock in Liz's face. He frowns and kicks himself a little. Too fast, he thinks. What a mess! Why does he always mess things up with Liz? He feels like he's 17 again.
A rattle at the door distracts them.
"Liz, are you okay?" asks Ethan.
Liz hesitates, wanting to say something to Max, but not sure what to say.
"Liz?" comes Ethan's voice again.
"I'm okay," says Liz.
Max and Liz exchange glances.
"Maybe we should go to my place," says Liz.
Max nods. He watches Liz as she turns off the computer and pops the CD from the drive. She slips it in an envelope and grabs Ava's autopsy file.
"Let's go," she says.
Max unlocks the door. Ethan looks quizzically at Max, then Liz, as he blocks the door.
"Where are you going?" asks Ethan. His jaw is tight; he's a bit jealous.
"Home," says Liz, matter of factly. "I'm going home."
He looks at Max.
"Ethan!" says Liz.
Ethan moves to let Liz out. Max follows Liz out, but returns Ethan's stare. He wonders what this man means to her.
Liz touches Max's arm.
"Come on, Max," she urges.
Ethan watches them as they go up the corridor. He flips open his cell phone, hits speed dial, and waits for an answer.
"Fish is on the bait," he says and hangs up.
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